President Michael Crow is exploring Ireland this week in the hopes of bringing some European concepts to a new ASU research facility.
Crow is touring The Digital Hub outside of Dublin, Ireland. Restaurants and retail businesses exist within the park, as well as living facilities, said ASU spokesman Virgil Renzulli.
He said Crow's trip, which will last three or four days, would most likely be privately funded by the ASU Foundation.
The goal of the trip is to observe the Ireland research facility and apply its concepts to a planned ASU facility.
ASU officials hope to build a state-of-the-art research facility at the former Los Arcos mall site in Scottsdale, at Scottsdale and McDowell roads, Renzulli said.
The project is estimated to cost $85 million.
ASU officials hope to break ground on the ASU Scottsdale Center for New Technology and Innovation as early as December 2005, said ASU director of economic affairs Julia Rosen.
The center will focus on research that has not yet been determined, Renzulli said.
He said no facility exists in the United States similar to what ASU hopes to build, and therefore, Crow needed to visit the center in Ireland.
Rosen took part in research of several facilities in Northern Europe earlier this year to find characteristics for the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center.
"There are no models in the U.S.," Renzulli said. "There is one in Ireland that is out of sight.
"It is different because research parks are typically out in the country -- buildings separated by lawns," Renzulli said. "There is a synergy among the companies and shared knowledge in these ones."
Crow wants the facility to include a museum or educational center so families could spend the day as if they were at a park, Renzulli said.
Renzulli described the center as a city within a city.
"There is no one facility in the world that has all of the characteristics that we are looking for," Rosen said. "The Irish model is interesting because it combines community engagement in addition to development."
Rosen said Los Arcos has several advantages for ASU, including its close proximity to ASU and downtown Scottsdale.
The Los Arcos area is also an advantage because the greater Phoenix area does not have a place that interacts with the University and global technology business community, she added.
"We certainly do think that ASU can be an exemplary of a center," Rosen said. "[The center can] allow economic development objectives and revitalize a struggling community."
Reach the reporter at katherine.ruark@asu.edu.
